Building Stronger Friendships
By Pastor Keith Keltner
After recent conversations about friendship, I realized that most people think of a friend as “someone I get along with and enjoy being around.” Sounds great, right? But is there more to a friendship then just getting along with someone and enjoying being around them? I get along with and enjoy being around most of my co-workers, but that doesn’t mean I call all of them my friends. I am a strong believer that the people we call “friends” determine the direction of our lives.
So if friendships determine the direction of our lives, the question becomes “who should I be friends with, and how can I be a better friend?” Being a friend is a choice to serve others and help them grow. I think there are a couple of things we that we can, not only look for in a friend, but also things we can do to be a better friend:
Listen
Genuinely, listening to the other person will communicate you truly care. I love the quote by Dale Carnegie, “To be interesting, you must be interested.” Everyone loves to feel valued, and if you are willing to take the extra five minutes to truly care about your friend, chances are they will reciprocate.
Admit When You Are Wrong
It’s hard to admit when you are wrong, but when you do, it communicates to your friend that you genuinely care about them and aren’t just out to prove a point.
Address Issues
One way to ruin a friendship is to continually brush issues under the rug. There isn’t a perfect person, and we will inevitably be hurt in close friendships. When something comes up that bothers you, don’t pretend everything’s fine — talk it out. Allowing an issue to build up, only makes matters worse, especially when it can be resolved before it reaches a boiling point.
When we do these three things — listen, admit our wrongs, and address issues that arise — we are better able to practically carry out actions that serve our friends and help them (and us) grow.
